Improvement in clothes-pounders



M. P. SMITH. Clothes-Founder.

No. 223,178 Patented Dec. 30,1879.

liwmz ar N. PEI'ERS, FHO

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFIcn MILLARD FILLMORE SMITH, OF DELAVAN, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN CLOTH ES-POUNDERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 223,178, dated December 30, 1879; application filed July 3, 1879.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, MILLARD FILLMORE SMITH, of Delavan, in the county of Tazewell, and in the State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Clothes- Pounders; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of refer ence marked thereon, making a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 represents a perspective view; Fig. 2, a vertical section; Fig. 3, a bottomplan view.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in the class of devices commonly known as atmospheric washers, consisting of a hollow inverted vessel or plunger applied to the lower end of a staff or handle, and used by pressing it upon the clothes in the water; and the invention consists in a novel construction of clothes-pounder, all as will be hereinafter fullydescribed, and specifically pointed out in the claim.

In the drawings, A represents the body or main portion of the plunger, having its walls or sides inclining slightly outward toward the bottom thereof, the upper portion of the body being supported or strengthened by a roundshaped top piece, B. 0 represents a con vex perforated bottom plate, rigidly secured to the inner surface of the body A, near the lower end thereof. The object of the plate 0, which extends to the inner surface of the body A, is to prevent the clothes going too far up in the body A.

D represents a hollow staffor handle, connected to the rounded top portion, B, and provided near its upper end with side openings, cl (1, closed by valves 0 c, a spring, I), fitting over the rods or stems'c, upon which the valves are mounted, holding said valves in a closed position. I

The top of the staff or handle is closed by a screw-cap, 6, thus enabling the operator to obtain easy access to the valves in case they should get out of order.

The object of the openings and valves in the staff or handle is to facilitate the removal of the pounder when forced down into the clothes and water, as when the pounder is raised a partial vacuunroccurs below said valves, which allows the outside air to enter the openings in the staff or handle, which, overcoming the suction produced in raising the pounder, permits of its easy and ready removal.

The object of the rounded top portion, B, is to strengthen the body A, and prevent the pressure on the staff or handle from bending in the top thereof.

I am aware that a clothes-pounder having an interior convex perforated plate, also a clothes-pounder having a hollow handle provided with a side opening and an exterior flapvalve for closing the same, and also a clothespounder having the main portion or body of the plunger provided with side openings closed by suitable valves, are old, and such I do not desire to claim, broadly, as my invention; but,

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The herein-described clothes-pounder, consisting of the inclined hollow body A, provided with the interior stationary perforated plate, 0, rigidly secured to the inner surface thereof, the strengthening rounded top plate, B, and the hollow staff or handle D, provided with side openings, 61 (1, interior valves, 0 c, and springb, substantially as shown and specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 19th day of May, 187 9.

MILLARD FILLMORE SMITH.

Witnesses:

'lnos. SLADE, H. E. HADLEY. 

